ROADIE

Real Name: Mimi Brown (see comments)

Identity/Class: Human mutate, British Citizen, legally deceased

Occupation: Warrior, adventurer

Group Membership: Shadow Riders

Affiliations: Cable, Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch/Noble Kale);
    formerly Matt Ryan (the human form in which Abadon had been trapped)

Enemies: Abadon, Mys-Tech (especially Eadmund Porlock)

Known Relatives: Unidentified father and mother

Aliases: Alison Kane (see comments)

Base of Operations: Mobile across Earth and other dimensions, numerous bases across Earth, particularly Shadow Riders HQ in North-West England;
    born in South London, England, UK

First Appearance: Shadow Riders#1 (June, 1993)

Powers: Roadie can create extraordinarily powerful psi-shields. These can be used to confuse opponents and protect fellow team mates. Her psi-shields can protect against energy attacks, mental attacks, and physical attacks. She can project shields around distant objects, as she has been seen shielding the teams Shadow Bikes while they are parked nearby (see comments). She can psychically probe humans and some aliens. She can't psi-read Stranger, however. She can psi-blindfold people, as she successfully did with Matt Ryan. This apparently hampers those with psi-tracing abilities, as well as presumably acting as a normal blindfold. She has a psi-snare ability which apparently enables her to ensnare minds. She can generate psionic blasts. She also has telekinetic powers.
    She acts in a similar manner to a Warheads Psi-Scout, on the look out for any trouble minutes before it happens. On occasion, she has used her psi-powers in tandem with her teammates abilities. Once she used them to boost Stranger's powers, and another time she psi-linked with Vorin when psionically blasting Abadon much the same as she and Abadon (in his Matt Ryan persona) had combined their psi-powers against the Slaughterhouse Six. Despite her powerful psionic abilities, she doesn't appear able to communicate telepathically with her teammates over long distance, using communications technology instead.

    Roadie has athlete speed, stamina, and strength. Her durability and reflexes are enhanced human. She has a radically reduced need for sleep due to being dead. She is an experience hand to hand combatant, skilled in the use of bladed weapons. She has above normal intelligence, and is a communications expert. When it comes to weapons she's probably a world expert. She also appears to have some first aid skill, which may be augmented by her powers (see comments).

    She wears mystically enhanced battle armor, including a personal force field. She has her own Shadow Bike, created of unique fluid material.

Height: 5'6" (see comments)
Weight: 110 lbs.
Eyes: (see comments)
Hair: White. Possibly dyed, sometimes appears light brown or blonde. (see comments)

History
(John Freeman's Roadie Character Profile) - The child who would grow up to become Roadie was born in South London

(John Freeman's Shadow Riders Guide) - Her relationship with her parents was poor. They were apparently not so loving at all.

(John Freeman's Roadie Character Profile) - She left school at sixteen with no qualifications.

(John Freeman's Shadow Riders Guide) - Once, she torched her own home in retaliation to the perceived victimization by her parents. A fireman, and close friend of hers, was killed in the blaze that she started and she had to live with the guilt of his death. Since that time she has been hunted by her parents.

(John Freeman's Roadie Character Profile) - Roadie was a UK citizen, and had a criminal record in the UK. (see comments)

(Shadow Riders#3 (fb) - BTS) - She ran away from her parents.

(Shadow Riders#4 (fb) - BTS) - She apparently was killed in a particularly messy accident on the Exeter By-Pass.

(John Freeman's Roadie Character Profile) - She was then regenerated by hi-tech majick from the point of death by Vorin.

(John Freeman's Roadie Character Profile) - She came to trust Vorin as a confidant.

(John Freeman's Shadow Riders Guide) - Roadie became one of the Shadow Riders, just after her eighteenth birthday, but didn't confide in the team about her parents unloving natures. In their eyes she started out as a spoiled brat on a runner. In time, however, she earned their respect.

(John Freeman's Shadow Riders Guide) - At some point, Roadie discovered her inability to psychically read Stranger. This made him very dangerous as far as she was concerned.

(Shadow Riders#1 (fb) - BTS) - When energy readings were detected at Mys-Tech Central, Roadie had a hunch that whatever was causing them would interfere with the defensive perimeter. Boot found out she was right, and was able infiltrate the enemy base.

(Shadow Riders#1 - BTS) - Roadie monitored as Boot investigated. She noted that the energy readings were well above the usual levels from their complex.

(Shadow Riders#1) - Boot's transmission stopped, and Roadie informed Stranger. He was unconcerned, feeling that Boot could take care of himself. As Stranger put an arm around her, Roadie warned him to move his hand unless he wanted to pull away a stump. She decided to contact Vorin.

(Shadow Riders#1 - BTS) - Roadie informed Vorin that Boot had stopped transmitting. Vorin was already aware, but busy.

(Shadow Riders#1) - Later, Roadie greeted Vorin and Boot as they returned to Shadow Riders HQ. Boot, who was carrying the body of Arnold Coltrane, asked Roadie if Stranger had recorded Star Trek. She appeared to ignore this, and jokingly enquired if the body over his shoulder was a new recruit or a new low for their local take away. Vorin responded that it was indeed a new recruit, before asking Boot what he'd found out at Mys-Tech Central. As Boot filled Vorin in, Stranger appeared. They then watched as Vorin set about transforming Coltrane's body.

(Shadow Riders#1 (fb) - BTS) - While Vorin was working on Coltrane, Roadie returned to monitoring Mys-Tech Central for energy readings. Vorin wanted to be notified immediately if the readings peaked again.

(Shadow Riders#1) - The energy readings went sky high again, a fact that Roadie commented upon aloud. Stranger commented on her talking to herself, as he appeared seemingly out of nowhere using his powers. Roadie pointed out that the defensive perimeter systems were affected, which Boot took as being their best shot to infiltrate the enemy base yet again. Just then, Vorin returned with Coltrane, whose transformation was now complete. This made Boot even more eager to return to Mys-Tech Central, and Vorin was in agreement that it was time.

(Shadow Riders#2 (fb) - BTS) - Boot led Roadie, Stranger and Coltrane (now codenamed Grunt) out on their Shadow Bikes to drive toward London. 

(Shadow Riders#2) - The Shadow Rider's raced along a motorway in northern England at midnight. While Roadie used her psi-power to build a psi-shield the group over took a Police motorcycle. As the policeman raced to try and catch up, Roadie's shields reached full strength. Vorin used the transit drive to complete their journey, sending them to Mys-Tech Central. They appeared in Experiment Chamber 101, where Porlock, Gadafel, and other Mys-Tech staff were experimenting on what appeared to be a young man. Roadie got a fix the power source creating the unusual energy readings, and identified it as being the young man. While Boot and Grunt fought Mys-Tech security, and Stranger sloped off on his own mission, Roadie tried to free the young man. Confused, he lashed out at her with an energy or psionic blast of some kind. He then released energy probes which summoned various demon like creatures, and the vigilante known as Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch). Boot, Grunt and Ghost Rider fought against the creatures and Mys-Tech's security, while Roadie recovered. Grunt asked if she was ok, and she responded that she thought so. Examining the young man, she saw that he was weak but was confident he could make it if they could get him away from Mys-Tech. Just then, some of the creatures attacked Roadie. She coped well, but was outnumbered. Fortunately, the young man realized that she was there to help and dispatched the creatures. Stranger returned with a disc, announcing that he had scrambled the defense systems for at least one more minute. With the group clear for transit, they returned to their base with Ghost Rider and the young man in tow. Roadie psi-blindfolded the young man to prevent him learning the location of their base, but on arrival they were greeted by Vorin who quickly asked her to remove the blindfold.

(Shadow Riders#2 (fb) - BTS) - Once Ghost Rider was gone, the young man was taken to the Shadow Riders medi-lab. They learned he was called Matt Ryan.

(Shadow Riders#2) - Matt spoke to Roadie about how Mys-Tech had kidnapped him. She reassured him, and asked if they could contact his parents. He said that he'd left home long ago and had a poor relationship with his parents. Roadie reassured him again, saying that he had a home with the Shadow Riders for as long as he wanted. At that point, Vorin called her aside and asked her opinion of Matt. Roadie believed that, although he seemed confused, Matt was on the level. Vorin then spoke to Stranger, as Roadie moved over to observe a sparring match between Grunt and Boot.

(Shadow Riders#3) - Roadie woke Matt from a nightmare about the Shadow Rider's, and tried to calm him as his powers were flaring out of control. Her fellow Shadow Rider's arrived, and she informed Vorin that Matt didn't seem keen on being used to penetrate Mys-Tech security. Vorin and the others left Roadie with Matt as they discussed Vorin's plans to return to his home world of Sharin. Meanwhile, Roadie and Matt started to bond. She told him how she had ran away from home and her parents, something they both appeared to have in common. They promised to look after each other.

(Shadow Riders#3 (fb) - BTS) - Roadie finally convinced Matt to trust and assist Vorin. She explained how they would help each other like a family, or at least in her mind like a family should be.

(Shadow Riders#3) - Roadie and Matt approached Vorin as he explained how he had adapted the transit drive to harness Matt's energies. She told Vorin that Matt was willing to help, and Vorin returned to work on the transit drive. An hour later, the Shadow Rider's were ready to use the transit drive. They climbed aboard their Shadow Bike's, with Matt riding on the back of Roadie's. Unexpectedly, Cable teleported in just as the transit drive activated and was taken along with them through a portal to Vorin's homeworld, Sharin. However, the planet was desolate, having been used by Mys-Tech as their Arena World. Roadie checked if Matt was okay, as he seemed affected by the journey. Meanwhile, Boot began explaining where they were and what was going on to Cable. He let slip that he was aware of Sharin's fate, due to his time as a Warhead. Vorin became angry with Boot, unaware that they were about to be attacked. Roadie did suddenly realize, however, and tried to warn Vorin. Too late, a member of Slaughterhouse Six, aka the Harpies, struck Vorin down. Roadie tried to stop the creature with a psi-snare, but it slid right off it's mind. Roadie knelt by Vorin's side, apologizing, but Cable told her to get with the program as more of the Harpies attacked. Roadie teamed up with Matt. They combined their psi powers to beat back the enemy, but Roadie was shot down by Porlock. Fortunately, her body protected her, though she collapsed to the floor in pain. Ryan was then revealed to be Abadon, and fell under Porlock's control. With a powerful blast, Abadon stunned Roadie and her companions. Minutes later they had all recovered, except for Vorin and Grunt who still felt the effects of the Harpies attacks. Porlock, flanked by the Warhead Che and some of his trainee Warheads, ordered Abadon to destroy Cable and the Shadow Riders.

(Shadow Riders#4) - Roadie and her companions struggled helplessly against Abadon's mystic bonds, as the entity began by attacking Vorin. Fortunately, the cavalry arrived in the form of Goodfellow, who had followed the team in secret at Vorin's behest. Che, secretly working for Cable, kept his Warhead's trainees from interfering as Goodfellow attacked Abadon with a particle disrupter. Meanwhile, Stranger asked Roadie for a boost of her psi-power. This enabled him to use his fazing ability to disrupt the bonds. Roadie examined him and found him to be in a bad way, but alive. As the Harpies renewed their attack, Boot had Goodfellow power leech one. Goodfellow transferred the creatures time phasing ability to Boot, who used it to hide the Shadow Riders, Cable and Che. Roadie continued to look after Stranger until he showed signs of recovery. She then asked Boot if they could try to save Matt. Boot seemed positive, but Vorin disagreed. Boot said they needed to make a plan before the time phasing power wore off.

(Shadow Riders#4 - BTS) - Porlock sent the Slaughterhouse Six and trainee Warheads back to Earth, while he and Abadon waited for Cable and the Shadow Riders to reappear. Unfortunately for Porlock, once they were gone Abadon turned on his master and the two fought.

(Shadow Riders#4) - Cable, Che and the Shadow Rider's reappeared and attacked Abadon as one. During the fight, Roadie saw Goodfellow pick something up and chided him for his magpie tendencies. The battle, meanwhile, continued and Porlock took the opportunity to escape back to Earth. Grunt noticed, but Vorin was more concerned with stopping Abadon. Roadie psi-linked with Vorin and they attacked Abadon while he was distracted, but the creature was too powerful to be contained even by their combined powers. Vorin told Roadie to retreat, but she tried a different tactic. When it appeared that Abadon might destroy her entire team, Roadie broke through to him and convinced him to stop temporarily fighting. This gave the Shadow Riders the chance to escape, but Roadie was annoyed when Cable and Boot fired upon Abadon. As they retreated through the portal, Boot carried Roadie back. She was upset, having seen Abadon start to change back to his Matt Ryan persona. Vorin, still hoping to kill Abadon, ordered Boot and Cable to help him while the others returned to Earth. The portal took them to the Mys-Tech portal station in India, where they witnessed Abadon try to pull Vorin back through to Arena World. Boot was able to pull Vorin free at the last instant, and the portal was sealed. They then came under fire from Mys-Tech guards, and were transported to safety by Cable's bodyslide technology.

(Shadow Riders#4 (fb) - BTS) - While Vorin worked on Che, who had been shot by Mys-Tech's guards, Roadie and the others waited in the recreation center at Shadow Riders HQ. Roadie began to bind Boot's wounds with bandages.

(Shadow Riders#4) - One hour later, Vorin brought Che through in his newly resurrected and transformed state. It transpired that the object Roadie had seen Goodfellow liberate from Arena World was part of a transit drive, giving Vorin hope that there could be survivors from his home planet. Roadie herself, however, was still upset about the loss of Matt Ryan. Once Cable had left, Boot went over to check on her to ask if she was ok. He went on to suggest they watch some Red Dwarf, but before they did so Roadie joined her fellow Shadow Riders in welcoming Che to the group as they vowed to take the war back to Mys-Tech.

Comments: Created by John Freeman, Brian Williamson, and Ross Dearsley.

    Roadie is both part of the Marvel UK imprint, and a British citizen.

    Her name was revealed in Marvel Atlas#1, under the United Kingdom's entry, as being Alison Kane. However, John Freeman's unpublished profile for her (which we were unaware of at the time of the Marvel Atlas) lists her real name as Mimi Brown. It also said that she no other current aliases. If we accept John's profile as correct (and he is one of the two writers responsible for this character), then perhaps Alison Kane could be considered an alias taken by her after the events of the Shadow Riders mini series.

    The profile also lists her physical stats. Under the categories of height, eyes (which gives no information), and hair it says to "Check with Stuart", as in Stuart Bartlett, editor of the series. I have no reason to suspect the height is inaccurate. Her hair generally appears light brown or blonde in the comics, however. Perhaps her natural hair color is white (as a result of her untimely demise and resurrection), and she dies it. I mean dyes it. Perhaps more than once in the course of an adventure...

    I can't tell the color of her eyes, unfortunately. This will have to remain a mystery. Not the greatest of dangling plot threads from Shadow Riders, but there you have it. On that subject, notes on some of the unpublished Shadow Rider's appearances look very interesting. One scene is described that also gives us an indication on how powerful Roadie's psi-shields are. They deflect Warhead's laser fire, which -- considering the advanced nature of their technology -- is impressive. Iron Man once compared Warhead's firepower to that of Doctor Strange and was visibly shown struggling to withstand it.

    Regarding Roadie's first aid skills, she seemed quick to diagnose injured people's conditions, and when examining Stranger there was a glow around her hand suggesting an element of her psionic powers being involved. The exact nature and mechanics of this are completely unrevealed, and pretty much completely speculative on my part. She definitely has some experience in this area, as she is seen applying bandages to Boot.

    John Freeman's character profile lists Matt Ryan as a known confidant. Considering Matt's transition into Abadon, this is most likely no longer the case. I have placed the mention of her criminal record after her arson attack on her old home. It's not explicitly stated that this is what is on her criminal record, but it seems likely. She may have a criminal record for her activities as a Shadow Rider. John's Shadow Rider's guide fleshes out her character a little more. She "has her own rules". It's also "clear that if any relationship between group members is going to work, it's Stranger who should be top of her shopping list", though her inability to read him is a problem there. Also, "she likes to be in control at at all times. However, whatever happens, Grunt will still adore her." I do feel sorry for Roadie being the only female on the team.

    It occurs to me in updating this profile that what I thought was a throwaway comment on Roadie's personality in Shadow Riders#2 might be something more. Grunt describes her as "cute, but as tough as kevlar". John Freeman's character profile says she has enhanced human durability, so perhaps she quite literally is as tough as kevlar. That said, she wears body armor so she clearly isn't completely bullet proof (if at all). Either way, it's a nice comment on the characters personality. Don't underestimate her because she's the cute girl on the team. She's powerful and has plenty of attitude.

    Thanks to Grendel Prime for updating the images.

Profile by Snood, updated and expanded by Changeling.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Roadie has no known connections to


images: (without ads)
Shadow Riders #1, p16, pan1 (Main image)
Shadow Riders #2, p2, pan3 (Image)


Appearances:
Shadow Riders#1 (June, 1993) - John Freeman & Brian Williamson (writers), Ross Dearsley (artist), Euan Peters (colors), Stuart Bartlett (editor)
Shadow Riders#2 (July, 1993) - John Freeman & Brian Williamson (writers), Ross Dearsley (artist), Euan Peters (colors), Stuart Bartlett (editor)
Shadow Riders#3 (August, 1993) - John Freeman & Brian Williamson (writers), Ross Dearsley (artist), Euan Peters (colors), Stuart Bartlett (editor), Paul Neary (editor-in-chief)
Shadow Riders#4 (September, 1993) - John Freeman & Brian Williamson (writers), Ross Dearsley (artist), Euan Peters (colors), Stuart Bartlett (editor), Paul Neary (editor-in-chief)


Last Updated: 02/16/14

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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